Why You Should Never Drink From Plastic

BY DR. AMY MYERS
JANUARY 2, 2014

Running out of ideas for New Year’s resolutions? Have you considered
hydration?

Proper hydration is essential for overall health. Since every cell in your body
relies on water to function, your hydration status should be just as important to you as your diet. Follow these
three quick tips to improve detoxification, and make hydration part of your New Year’s resolution.

1. Drink plenty of fluids

About 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. This means that we often lose
more water than we consume. Whether you’re hoping to lose weight, meet your next fitness goal, or just feel more
like yourself again, hydration will help. Drinking plenty of water will improve your athletic performance, decrease
your appetite, and help wash out unwanted toxins and chemicals.

When you're properly hydrated, you'll have to go to the restroom multiple times
throughout the day. Even though this may seem inconvenient, you will be cleansing your body and supporting your
immune system. Aim to drink 6 to 8 glasses of filtered water every day, but remember to drink more during the
summer months and when traveling to higher elevation.

2. Choose clean, filtered water

Since more than half of the body is comprised of water, the quality of your water
can have a direct effect on your state of health. We absorb water internally as we drink it, but we also absorb
water through our skin when we bathe and swim. Heavy metals and other contaminants in the water supply can be
absorbed through your skin and GI tract and stored in your body if you have genetic mutations (MTHFR) and cannot
properly detoxify. In fact, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) discovered in a 3-year study that 85% of the
population in the U.S. consumes water with about 316 contaminants, most of which are completely
unregulated.

This is why filtering your tap water is so important. I believe that prevention is
the most important aspect of good health, so I encourage all of my patients to drink and shower in filtered water
if it is practical and affordable for them. In my home, I use Aquasana, a local Austin-based company whose filters
are designed to remove heavy metals, chlorine, chloramines, pesticides, and herbicides from water. I grew to love
their products so much that I became an affiliate of the company so that I could help spread the word of their
cutting-edge water filtration technology.

3. Drink from glass or stainless steel containers

Did you know that 1,500 plastic bottles are used every second in the United
States? Or that it requires 17 million barrels of oil to produce plastic bottles each year? According to the EPA,
32 million tons of plastic waste were generated in 2011 alone. Despite recycling programs, 40 billion plastic
bottles end up in a landfill, where they sit for approximately 700 years before they decompose. For this reason, I
encourage all of my patients to drink out of glass or stainless steel containers.

I use a stainless steel water bottle from Kleen Kanteen, but there are many green,
toxin-free containers to choose from. I recommend avoiding plastic water bottles in order to reduce plastic waste
but also to avoid toxins like Bisphenol A (BPA), which has been shown to imitate estrogen and other hormones in the
body. Now you can find BPA-free containers from most companies, but I still prefer to drink out of glass and
stainless steel just to be safe.

As you embark on this new year, remember to drink plenty of filtered water from a
glass or steel container in order to continuously cleanse your body and regain your health.